by WKYC Production Manager Allen Wohl
With Cleveland's Democratic Presidential Debate less than two weeks away preparations are underway for the night all eyes will be on Cleveland to see Senators Clinton and Obama face off in the nationally televised event. The WKYC-TV and Cleveland State University sponsored event will be broadcast live from 9-10:30 pm on Tuesday, February 26th on NBC and MSNBC and locally on WKYC, Channel 3.
Other Presidential debates around the country had months to plan and prepare, but thanks to a still very tight race for the democrats this one will come together in a matter of weeks. Needless to say, those preparations are in high gear. A meeting was called Monday for the key players in the event including top executives from NBC News, WKYC-TV, Cleveland State University, Mayor Jackson's office, and the Ohio Democratic Party to get the ball rolling.The group toured the Wolstein Center, the site of the debate to determine how the arena will be transformed into an intimate theater setting for the debate. Several other locations around the campus were also scouted for possible locations for the "Spin Room", the media filing center, dressing rooms and staff work areas for the candidates and more. Additionally NBC surveyed locations for the various other NBC and MSNBC programs that will originate from Cleveland the day of the event including "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," and the "Today Show."
On Wednesday, a smaller group with representatives from NBC, WKYC and CSU started nailing down some of the technical details of the event production. Decisions were made on the layout of the arena, including plotting seating and camera location plans. Final decisions were also made on the venues for the various NBC and WKYC programs. Planning for specific equipment and manpower needs will continue as the days and hours tick by leading up to the day of the event.
As a main sponsor and organizer of the event, WKYC will have exclusive access to the debate theater itself for all of the day's newscasts and special programming around the debate broadcast. Channel 3 News will originate from inside the arena beginning with the 6 and 7 pm newscasts - then again for a live special from 8-9 pm leading up to the debate, and will follow the event with a special from 10:30-11:00 and a special edition of Channel 3 News at 11 pm.
On the television side, details for everything from staging and lighting to camera positions and production truck parking are being carefully worked out. But television aside - organizing the event itself is a monumental task. Details related to hosting and credentialing upwards of 500 working media from around the country, security, planning viewing parties, catering, printing programs, ticket distribution, securing supporting sponsors and so much more all must be planned and executed to make the event a success.
This is a great opportunity to show the country what a great urban University Cleveland has in CSU and shows how important Cleveland and the State of Ohio is to this presidential race. WKYC is proud to be one of the driving forces behind bringing this event to Cleveland and we will have it covered like no other Cleveland television station can.
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS:
Below you will find pictures taken at the planning meeting held between NBC, WKYC and Cleveland State University on 2/13/08.
Pictures courtesy: Allen Wohl
